India hosts cultural evening for SCO counterparts, Central Asian and Bollywood fusion on display

By Sahil Pandey And Ayushi Agarwal

Benaulim (Goa) [India], May 4 : India is hosting a cultural event on Thursday evening, ahead of the main meeting in Goa for its SCO counterparts, which will display a fusion of dance between Central Asian countries, South Asian countries including India and Pakistan, along with Russia and China.

The participants will also be performing the Indian classical danceforms including Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Odissi, as old and popular film songs, including the Oscar-winning track 'Natu Natu'.

Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) participants will give performances representing the eight members of the SCO.

India's SCO counterparts China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan foreign ministers arrived in Goa today.

Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Chinese FM Qin Gang and later with Uzbek foreign minister Bakhtiyor Saidov.

The bilateral meeting of S Jaishankar with his Chinese counterpart focussed on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring "peace and tranquillity" in the border areas.

The two foreign ministers held detailed discussions, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Orgsation (SCO) FM meet, revolving around SCO, G20 and BRICS, said EAM Jaishankar.

Meanwhile, Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, held talks on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting and reviewed bilateral, global and multilateral cooperation between the two countries. The two leaders also discussed issues pertaining to G20 and BRICS.

Jaishankar and his Uzbekistan counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov, during their talks, expressed confidence that the bilateral partnership will continue to grow in different domains. During the meeting, Jaishankar appreciated Uzbekistan's strong support for India's SCO presidency.

The theme for India's chairmanship of SCO in 2023 is 'Secure-SCO'.

New Delhi attaches special importance to SCO in promoting multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interactions in the region.

Shanghai Cooperation Orgzation (SCO) is an intergovernmental orgsation established in 2001.

India took over the rotating presidency of the SCO at the summit held in Samarkand in 2022.